Problem with notation in applied Bayesian work
One hurdle newcomers have to applied Bayesian work is understand the notation. Coming from a mathematical background, one might think that p(x) is the same function as p(y) just evaluated at x and y, respectively. Instead in Bayesian notation, these typically refer to the marginal density (or mass) function for x and y, respectively. Similarly p(x|y) is not the same function as p(y|x), but instead the first is the function describing the conditional density (or mass) function of x given y and the second is the conditional density (or mass) function of y given x. Attempts to rectify this notation seem to make the notation overly complicated and therefore, the differences are made implicit. For more discussion of this, please see this post.
blog comments powered by Disqus
blog comments powered by Disqus